How rich the irony. I did watch the 2002 Kanon anime, but I have forgotten all but a very few things about it. I remembered that Yuuichi was a “nice guy” (a term used around my house to describe a particular type of man that is in no way pejorative. A “nice guy” is nice.) I remembered that I didn’t remember a thing about any of what passed for a plotline, but that it didn’t matter because the whole series was not meant to be enjoyed as an stand-alone anime, but as homeopathic porn.

And, I remembered Saiyuri and Mai.

Saiyuri was the cute, talkative one. Mai was the taciturn one, a quality that reads “butch” in a hyperfemme show like this. And I remembered that Yuuichi’s existence did not separate the two in any way. (In the anime, at least. I have no doubt that in the original game/Visual Novel, he had sex with at least one, probably both. No need to educate me on this, I really, honestly, don’t care.)

There was nothing openly Yuri about Saiyuri and Mai, just the sense that they were, *obviously* meant to be together. Mai, being the butchier of the two was “clearly” (when Yuri Goggles were turned up sufficiently) in love with Saiyuri. Turn those Goggles up another notch or two and Saiyuri “obviously” returned her feelings.

I did watch the whole 2002 series and this was basically all I retained from it. Not having been captivated by the original porn version, I failed to retain the sense of profound joy the anime apparently brought to those fans – as a result I was boggled that such an utterly dull series warranted an even longer, even duller remake. Nonetheless, I braved Kanon, 2006.

All of the storylines are given depth in this new version. This newer, longer version explains almost everything – including *why* the bulk of the cast has no memories. And yet, I found my time with these characters to be akin to sitting in a Doctor’s waiting room. Not really unpleasant, but not really pleasant, either.

I was watching it solely for Mai and Saiyuri. And in the end, I was most disappointed by their storyline. Try as I might, no matter how high I turned the Yuri Goggles, they remained friends. Plain old best friends without the vaguest hint of unreasonable affection or secret desire. Meh.

If I had loved the original game, and eagerly watched the 2002 series and waited breathlessly for this series, I’d have to say that this anime was pretty good, if ridiculously sentimental. But because all I wanted was Mai and Saiyuri to be more of a couple, not less of one, it was an epic failure. lol No, not really. For everything else, it was really okay. Except one thing. Which was so horrific I have to comment.

When I saw the girls’ character designs I actually screamed. Good god! You moe fans – does this REALLY look good to you? They look like their are wearing plastic heads over their real heads! It’s absolutely horrific! In a stunning display of personal retconning, I convinced myself that the original designs must have been better, because aaaaugh! Of course, after I took a second to check, I had to laugh at how utterly wrong I was. LOL The best things about those hideously huge-eyed, giganto heads is that they are *way* better than the original art. Which says something profound, I’m sure, but I couldn’t tell you what. lol

For the record, my lack of memories also has an explanation. You’ll just have to read all my posts here to find out why. :-)

Ratings:

Art – 3 I’m just not getting it, guys. They look stupid.
Story – 7 Sentimental, syrup-y romance
Characters – 6 One signature sound does not a great character make
Yuri – 0
Service – In one sense, Infinity. In another – 5

Overall – It was a 5 most of the way through, but the end was *so* goopy, I’ll give it a 7.

I bet this series is why Love Plus is selling so well – all those guys played Kanon when it was a VN and are disappointed that women are more complex than that, now that they are grownups.

Everlasting thanks to Okazu Superhero Dan P. for his contribution to my inner Fanboy, which has rejected this and is willing to send it back. ^_^